The Prohibition era in America, which lasted for well over a decade and—inconceivable as it might be today—effectively banned the sale and production of booze in the United States, ended with the ratification of the 21st Amendment on Dec. 5, 1933.

In July, while working for the New York Times, photographer Moises Saman journeyed into Syria as the first Western photographer to enter the country since the conflict between anti-government protestors and forces of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad began. His photographs of activists inside the city of Hama accompany TIME correspondent Rania Abouzeid’s revealing story based on a week of her own clandestine reporting in Syria. Saman and Abouzeid both discovered a Syrian opposition movement stubborn in the face of the regime’s troops, tanks and intelligence agents – but without a clear leadership.

The uprising in Syria is five-months old and in spite of losing the support of many allies, including its close friend Turkey, the Assad government has shown little sign of weakness. But on Thursday, after months of urging Assad to reform, President Obama directly called on him to step down. His demand was echoed by similar calls for Assad to resign by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Canada. Obama also announced the freezing of all Syrian assets within reach of the US government.

Saman’s and Abouzeid’s work provide unique insight into a regime that has besieged some its own cities – and is now itself increasing under siege from the international community.